Blade
by lcanoOdles
Summary: Fable 3: The princess meets a young man on her way to the Dweller Camp and their adventures are just beginning. Major OC!
1. Prologue

**A.N.: This story may not be very accurate because I didn't replay the game while writing it.**

**Background info about Fable:**

***It is set in Medieval times.**

***The purpose of Fable is to fight monsters. Each game has it's own plot but the overall purpose is just the pure pleasure of bashing a mercenary's head in.**

***Albion is the world this takes place in. Settlements within Albion are Brightwall, Silverpines, Dweller Camp, Millfields, Bowerstone, Mispeak, and Aurora.**

***The Guild Seal is an item used to open certain doors and you butler, Jasper, uses it to communicate with you. The Reliquary, for instance, needs the Guild Seal to be opened.**

***The Crawler's massacre (later in the story) is a mixture of my hatred of Heather Dixon's character, Keeper from Entwined and the Crawler from Fable 3. I used some Entwined quotes in that excerpt.**

{Prologue}

...

Snow fell.

A girl with long, red hair watched as each flake danced to the ground.

She thought grimly, Albion is going to be cold this winter.

Her big, green eyes reflected her concern.

She tugged at her bangs in deep thought.

"Blade," a voice said behind her.

The girl turned to see her older brother smiling back at her.

"What's wrong, princess?"

"Are the people going to freeze?" the girl asked.

"Why would they freeze?" her brother wanted to know.

"Because they're poor. They don't have very much."

"You know Mum's taking good care of them." said her brother, "you don't need to worry."

The girl watched the snow some more, "Mum; what's going to happen to her?"

Her brother's expression changed for a split second. Something flashed in his eyes, but he shook it away, "I don't know."

The girl bit her lip, "She's sick, isn't she?"

Her brother nodded.

"I'm scared, Logan."

Logan held out his arms, beckoning his sister to wrap her arms around him.

"Don't worry, Fae," he whispered as she hugged him, "I'll always be here for you."

...

Years passed and their mother died.

Logan, being the only male heir to the throne, became king.

His rule, however, was harsh and devastated Albion.

His sister, Fae, turned against him.

As a result, she lost her best friend to her brother's hand and fled the castle with her two most trusted servants: her butler, Jasper and her teacher, Walter.

Fae decided that she wouldn't return to the castle until she formed a powerful enough alliance and took it back.

She remained in hiding until then.

...


	2. Brightwall

...

One day, while walking through Brightwall village, Fae noticed a young man following her.

At first, she thought it was a coincidence and that he was headed in the same direction as she was.

As she was crossing the border into Dweller territory, she saw him in the corner of her eye.

Realizing he had been caught, the man hid among a mass of people.

He peeked his head out slightly to watch Fae.

"I can see you." Fae stated simply, "sir, if you're going to follow me, you may as well do it openly."

The man turned red, but came out from behind his cover, "you don't mind?"

"I do," said Fae, "but I've already caught you twice. I figured you might as well stop this nonsense."

"You must be wondering-"

"-why you're following me? Of course I'm wondering that."

"You remind me of someone," the man said, "I didn't want to tell you."

"So you followed me?"

"To study you," he said.

"Well? What's your conclusion?"

"Um..." the man looked at her with embarrassment. He quickly closed his mouth.

"Yes?" Fae was growing impatient, "if you're trying to distract me, sir, it's not worth it. I am needed in Mispeak Valley, so whatever you need to say, please say it."

The man frowned. For a while, he was quiet (which just made Fae angrier) and then asked if he could escort her.

His request caught Fae off guard.

"Why?" she asked him.

"I need to study you better before I can make a conclusion," the man answered.

Fae frowned, "fine, you may escort me. However, I shall need to know your name."

The color drained from the man's face, "...my name?"

"Yes, your name. I will need to call you by something."

There was a silence that lasted for a long moment.

"Can you not remember your name?" Fae assumed.

"Of course I know my own name!" the man seemed defensive.

"Then what is it?"

"It doesn't seem fair that you should know my name but I shouldn't know yours."

"I'm known as Blade," Fae told him.

"That's not your real name, though, is it?"

"No."

"In that case, you can call me Forge."

"You don't trust me, do you?"

"No."

Fae muttered something cynical.

"What?" Forge demanded.

"Nothing," Fae seethed.

They looked at each other. Fae was debating on letting this man go with her (she was very wary of strangers) and Forge was trying to figure out who this "Blade" really was.

Fae sighed, "Shall we get going?"

"We might as well. If we don't head out soon, we'll be travelling at night."

"Is that supposed to scare me?" Fae wondered.

"Anyone in their right mind would be frightened."

"Call me crazy."

...

Blade and Forge wandered through Mispeak Valley.

They had been attacked by three packs of wolves and were growing tired.

Forge had suggested stopping to set up camp, but Blade insisted that she needed to continue on and that a break would slow them down.

It was getting dark before Blade accused Forge of being lost.

"I know where we are," Forge frowned at Blade.

"Face it, Forge, you don't know where we're going."

"Then light the way, Hero." Forge motioned toward the gauntlet Blade was wearing.

(She used will while they were in battle and had hoped that Forge hadn't noticed.)

"I know who you are," Forge smiled, "you're the princess. Your brother is King Logan and your mother was a Hero before you. You're needed in Dweller Camp to start a rebellion, aren't you?"

Blade grimaced because Forge recognized her.

Forge sighed, "When I heard the princess ran away, I never expected to meet her. You have my alliance against King Logan. I don't need anything in return, just to see Albion with a new leader. I'll follow you into battle, princess."

Blade stared at him, "no, you don't know what you're getting yourself into."

"I'm ready for it," Forge argued.

Blade opened her mouth to say something, but Forge stopped her.

"Come, princess. If you're going to create an army and rise up against King Logan, you're going to need more than just me. I'm only one man."

They continued travelling. Blade closed her eyes and breathed slowly.

"Thank you," she whispered.

Forge looked at her with wide, blue-grey eyes, "For what?"

"Everything; for escorting me and protecting me and understanding. It means a lot."

Forge smiled a crooked smile.

"So, you know my back story," Blade looked into Forge's eyes, "do I get to hear yours?"

"Your Highness..."

"Fae,"

Forge glanced into her green eyes before quickly looking away.

"Fae," he finally whispered back to her.

...

Forge's real name was Andrew.

The reason he was known as Forge was because he worked for the Brightwall blacksmith and was good at forging weapons.

His favorite weapon that he forged, he kept with him.

"So why are you 'Blade?'" he asked Fae.

"I've been told I'm good with a sword."

Andrew smiled at her, "I'd love to see that."

...

Dweller Camp wasn't what Fae had expected at all.

It was poor and run down and was extremely cold.

Fae shivered and huddled close to Andrew.

"Cold, Blade?" he grinned at her. Fae nodded.

Andrew wrapped his arm around her shoulder, "do you see this 'Walter' yet?"

(Fae had explained why she was headed to Dweller Camp the night before. She decided that she could trust Andrew and that he deserved to know.)

"No."

"I'm sure we'll find him."

"Blade!" someone called from behind them.

Andrew, instinctively, moved away from Fae.

Fae turned to see who called to her.

Walter waved his chubby arm. His belly jiggled.

"Forge, follow me," Fae held her hand toward him.

Andrew hesitated, then took her hand.

They strolled over to Walter.

"Well," Walter studied Andrew, "who is this?"

"Forge," Andrew answered quickly.

"He escorted me," Fae explained.

Andrew nodded.

Walter smiled before ranting about someone named Sabine.

Andrew didn't really listen to him.

Fae pretended to be listening.

She answered questions when necessary but was in the midst of zoning out.

"Fae, are you listening?" Walter asked.

"No," Fae said without thinking, "I mean, uh...no, not really. Why?"

Walter frowned.

Andrew almost fell on his side, he began to laugh so hard.

Fae grinned.

Apparently she had said something funny.

...

Ruler over the Dwellers, Sabine, would not be easily persuaded toward the rebel side.

He refused to fight for Logan but wouldn't ally with Fae either.

In order to win him over, she needed to retrieve an artifact.

Fae soon realized that battling alone was much harder than fighting alongside Andrew.

Still, Fae acquired the object and returned it to Sabine.

After gaining Sabine as a comrade, Fae was free to explore Albion while Jasper and Walter planned their next move.

Fae stopped in Brightwall to ask Andrew to join her.

...


	3. Tormenting Mercenaries

...

Fae walked into the blacksmith, looking for Andrew.

A silhouette towered over her, almost as soon as she arrived.

"Say," a deep, unfriendly voice struck fear into Fae's heart. She cringed and turned to look at her foe, "what's a pretty thing like you doing here? Are you lost, little girl?"

Her tormentor was tall, bulky, intimidating, and chewed on a cigar butt. Fae looked into his soul-less, dark eyes.

"I was looking for somebody," Fae, who regained her composure, stood tall and unmoved, "I can see he's not here at the moment."

"You are pretty," the man said, obviously not listening to her.

"Excuse me," Fae cleared her throat, "could you move, please?"

"Why should I?" the man wanted to know.

Fae stood her ground, "I'm trying to get around your fat butt."

Suspense filled the air. Everyone around them craned their necks to see what would happen next.

"Pardon me," a man fought his way through the newly formed crowd. Fae and her op-poser glanced at him.

Andrew, Fae's mind screamed. She remained silent, though.

"Could I see you for a moment?" Andrew reached out to yank Fae away.

"Where are you going?" Fae's tormentor demanded, "I'm not finished with you!"

"Well, I'm finished with you, so toodle pip." Fae waved goodbye as though she had made a new friend, while Andrew dragged her toward the door.

Andrew and Fae escaped the blacksmith, leaving everyone speechless.

...

While walking around Brightwall, Andrew forced Fae to tell him what happened in the blacksmith shop.

Fae felt a shiver run up her spine as she relived the experience.

"I walked outside of the pawnbroker to find a crowd gather around the blacksmith. I thought there was a sale or an event of some sort until I heard the man in front of me exclaim that a bold and cheeky young lady was trying to pick a fight with a mercenary. I thought 'I only know one young lady cheeky enough to do something like that.' You almost gave me a heart attack!" Andrew scolded at Fae.

Fae shrugged, "In my defense, he deserved it."

Andrew turned and stopped, dead in his track.

"Uh, Fae," his voice hinted a pinch of fear.

Fae followed his gaze.

Behind them, the man from the blacksmith scoured the streets for her.

"Run, Andrew," Fae whispered to him.

"What?"

"Run!" she screamed and bolted in one direction.

Andrew turned to see the mercenary almost an arms length away from him.

He took off in the opposite direction just as the man reached toward him.

"Hey! Get back here!" Andrew heard the man call after him.

...

About 10 minutes later, Andrew found Fae again, panting behind the pawnbroker.

As he approached her, she smiled at him.

He let out a laugh, "Wow," he said, "that was a rush."

Fae giggled, "we need to do that more often."

"What," Andrew grinned, "torment mercenaries?"

"I once walked through a camp of ruffians, impersonating one of them."

Andrew stared at Fae, mouth agape.

She shrugged, "It was funny when they finally realized that I was just a duplicate."

"Wow," Andrew said, "aren't you a rebel?"

"It was to gain the mercenary, Saker, as an ally."

"Did it work?"

"Yea, after I blew up half the camp."

Andrew laughed, "Well, now that we're done bullying mercenaries, is there something you needed?"

"A sword," Fae smiled at him, "and I wanted to see if you were interested in exploring the library's Reliquary?"

"Uh, sure, Fae. Sounds like fun. Would you like to take a look at the blacksmith's swords first?"

"Depends. Is that mercenary still there?"

"I don't see him."

"In that case, show me your selection of swords."

...

Andrew and Fae fought side by side, surrounded by thousands upon thousands of decaying hollow men.

While exploring the Reliquary, the duo discovered books and gems and other miscellaneous items neither of them needed.

They had been attacked by so many hollow men that after 45th skeleton, they lost count.

Their situation would've ended badly if Fae was not a Hero or if Andrew had refused her offer.

Fae began generating will and Andrew lunged toward the nearest enemy.

After one hit of Fae's fire spell, most of the hollow men went up in flames.

The remaining skeletons were no match to Andrew's sword.

...

Andrew and Fae ambled deeper into the Reliquary.

Andrew, in an attempt to make a move, yawned and stretched his arm so that it touched Fae's farthest shoulder to him.

Fae glanced at him, "What was that?"

Andrew blushed, ashamed that his attempt had failed, "I was trying to hit on you."

Fae raised an eyebrow, "really?"

Andrew studied her, "What do you mean, 'really'? Are you trying to tell me that you don't attract many men?"

"I dunno," Fae said with a shrug, "I haven't noticed."

"You haven't noticed? How haven't you noticed?"

"I've been busy," Fae said.

"Oh,"

Just then, Jasper contacted Fae through the Guild Seal.

Andrew looked alarmed at Fae, "who's that?"

"Jasper,"

They were quiet for a moment to listen to his message.

He needed Blade (Fae) to report to the Sanctuary for her next mission.

"We should probably get out of here, then. I don't remember the way out."

"Follow me," Fae gestured Andrew to follow her.

They made it out just as the sky started growing dark.

...


	4. Jealousy

...

Fae's next mission was to clean up the streets of Brightwall.

Catching escaped prisoners.

While looking for one fugitive, something caught Fae's eye.

When she turned to see what it was, she saw the most horrifying sight: Andrew was flirting with a village girl!

Fae stared at them, her eyes burning with jealousy.

She stormed off in a huff, luckily unnoticed by Andrew.

She stumbled across the convict, threw him over her shoulder, and carried him to the guards, where she dropped him on his butt.

"There's your fugitive," she muttered and stomped off.

...

Time flew, though Fae didn't notice. She was too busy running around town, fetching this and that.

A woman asked her to find her missing child, a farmer requested that she should round up his scattered chickens, and she recruited more comrades.

She had almost forgotten all about Andrew.

That is until Fae bumped into him while hurrying through town one day.

"Oh," Andrew said and looked at her, "hey, Blade."

Fae shot a glare at him before sprinting away, angrily.

Andrew watched her with confusion.

Thinking she lost him, Fae stepped across the Brightwall border into Mispeak Valley just as someone grasped her hand and pulled her back.

She looked at the person with surprise then, realizing it was Andrew, she forced a stone-cold look.

Fae turned her head away and struggled to get out of his grip.

"Fae!" he squeezed her hand harder.

"Let go!" she screamed.

"Tell me why you're upset with me," he compromised.

"No! Let go!"

Andrew's grip grew tighter. Fae let out a cry.

"I have all day, Fae."

"Well, I don't!"

"Then tell me."

Fae pouted. Andrew yawned.

Seeing as her efforts were useless, Fae gave in.

"Fine," she said, "I saw you holding hands with someone. After I thought you had feelings for me, too."

Fae turned her face away so Andrew wouldn't see her cry.

Andrew forced her to turn and look at him. He rubbed her tears away.

"You know," he said, "you could've just told me."

It was quiet for a moment.

"I can't ask you out, Fae," Andrew finally pointed out, "It's out of my place."

"That's why I didn't say anything earlier," Fae agreed, "besides I've been planning a rebellion so love and dating haven't been on my mind."

They were quiet again.

"So, where are you headed?" Andrew wondered.

"Walter wanted me to meet him at the monorail station in Mispeak," Fae explained to him.

"Would you mind if I tagged along?"

"Actually, it would be my pleasure."

Together, Andrew and Fae fought their way to the station.

...

Fae and Walter patiently waited to ride the monorail to Mourningwood.

As the machine pulled into the station, though, a commotion started in which the machine exploded and fell to the ground.

Among the excitement, Walter and Fae raced to the mechanism, to find out what had happened and rescue any survivors.

However, a group of hobbes beat them to the crime site.

Walter and Fae attacked the creatures.

Fae tackled one and pulled out her sword to stab him. Three ganged up on Walter but before he could draw his sword, Fae blasted them with her will.

Walter looked at her, unimpressed, "Show off."

Fae shrugged at him. Without her, Walter would be ambushed.

...

They made it Mourningwood, where Walter lead Fae to a colossal fort.

Inside, an army of soldiers welcomed them.

Out of all the soldiers Fae was introduced to, Ben Finn and Private Jammy caught her eye.

Ben was funny and Jammy was likable.

In any case, Fae made friends quickly at the fort.

She learned how to use a mortar, which became her favorite weapon by far.

Night fell and the fort was raided by hollow men.

To Fae's disappointment, Andrew wasn't there to watch her back.

By dawn, Jammy was dead but the fort was secure.

Fae mourned over the death of her newly made friend and gained an army of allegiance.

Fae followed Walter through Mouringwood to Bowerstone Industrial where they would meet their toughest resistors yet.

...

Fae was hit with the cruelty of reality while in Bowerstone.

She watched as a protester was shot to death for speaking out on the unfairness of his work situations.

His shooter, Reaver, noticed Fae.

He must have recognized her by her close resemblance of her mother, Sparrow.

Fae had heard of Reaver before; her mother had a certain relationship with him while trying to save Albion 50 years ago.

What surprised Fae most was how young Reaver looked.

She remembered something her mother once told her: Reaver sacrificed the youth of others to stay young and immortal.

Fae never understood what she meant until now, after seeing Reaver face-to-face.

Reaver smirked down at her before turning and reentering the building behind him.

The Bowerstone Resistance wouldn't be swayed to Fae's side very easily.

In order to make them trust her, Fae would need to help out locals.

Of all the things Fae did, helping out locals was not her favorite.

She wasn't comfortable with volunteering to fetch items and assassinating innocent people.

Walter tried to persuade her. "It was to gain followers," and such. Words of persuasion didn't change Fae's mind. She still had to speak to strangers.

...

Shortly after earning the Bowerstone Resistance trust, Fae was given a chance to see Andrew.

It had been weeks since he escorted her to the monorail station, so, naturally, Fae was excited.

Fae walked into the Brightwall blacksmith, coincidentally, at the same time Reaver did.

He smiled down at her, "Princess, please," he bowed her in, "ladies first."

Fae watched him cautiously as she walked inside.

"How..."

"You remind me of your mother," Reaver answered her before she could finish her question, "besides, why else would a young lady be shopping for weapons?"

Fae blushed, "Good point, Mr..."

"Reaver, just Reaver."

"...Reaver."

"So, tell me, princess, what were you doing in Industrial?"

Fae forced a smile, "I was there on business. And call me 'Fae,' please, Reaver."

"Well, Fae, did you like the show I put on? I sure hope so; it was in your honor..."

"Quite honestly, Reaver, I did not. That poor man did not deserve such a fate."

"On the contrary, that man was protesting against me. What would you have done?"

Fae gave Reaver a sharp look. Her smile faded.

"I, Reaver, would have stopped his protest gently,"

Reaver picked up a pistol and twirled it in the air, catching it without much effort.

Fae stared at Reaver. Reaver grinned back at her.

Andrew entered the blacksmith and stole Fae away from Reaver.

As she left the blacksmith, Fae heard Reaver call after her, "See you soon, princess."

Hopefully not too soon, Fae thought to herself.

...


	5. Reaver

...

Fae learned she would be spending an unfortunate lot of time with Reaver.

It's not that she didn't like him, but he seemed to have an interest in her.

Maybe it was because she was Sparrow's daughter. Maybe it was because she and her mother were somewhat alike.

Whatever the reason was, she found herself running into Reaver more often than not.

In one encounter, Reaver asked Fae a question that she had been trying to avoid: why she dragged a commoner around.

She didn't want to confess any feelings that she had for him, so she answered quite simply that it was because he made a good escort.

"That's a shame for the poor lad," Reaver smirked, "you really don't have an intimate relationship with him, do you?"

"He's a good friend," Fae answered truthfully.

"Good," Reaver sounded all too pleased to hear that.

...

Fae stared at Page, horrified.

"No!" she screamed, "No! You can't make me!"

(Fae was asked to meet with Walter, Page, and Ben Finn at the Bowerstone Resistance hideout to receive her next task. Page suggested that she should sneak into Reaver's upcoming masquerade. This is Fae's reaction.)

"Oh, come on, Fae," Page insisted, "I'll be there with you."

"I won't do it."

"Fae, I don't like him either."

"I'm not going to waltz into Reaver's party, be seen with you, dressed like that!"

"Fae, please."

"No."

Ben stepped in, "would you do it if..."

"No."

"Would you let me finish?!"

"No, Ben."

Walter laughed.

"Fae, do this one thing for me and I will consider your offer."

Fae thought it over. She sighed and asked, "Can I bring a friend?"

Page, Walter, and Ben glanced at each other.

"Uh," Page said, her eyebrows knitting, "sure?"

"Then let's go crash this party."

...

Ben begged Fae to let him sneak into Reaver's masquerade party.

"Ask Page," Fae told him.

"I was told to ask you," Ben whined.

"I don't care. That's up to Page."

Ben grinned, "I guess you're stuck with me if neither of you will make up your minds."

He looked satisfied for a second before looking back at Fae and demanding, "wait, if 'your friend' wasn't me, then who on earth are you bringing?!"

It was Fae's turn to grin, "You'll see."

...

Fae stumbled into Andrew as the blacksmith was closing that day.

"Andrew, she beamed, "I was invited to crash a party in Millfields and wanted to ask you to join me."

"To crash a party?"

"Yea, it's a costume party."

Andrew looked as though he were considering it, "Who's going to be there?"

"Captain Ben Finn, Page from the Bowerstone Resistance, Reaver..."

"It's at Reaver's mansion, isn't it?"

Fae couldn't help but smile, "Maybe."

"You are dangerous. Messing with Reaver? That's pretty badass."

"You know you want to come."

Andrew nodded, "I'll be there."

"Good. Remember to wear a mask. And meet me at Reaver's house as soon as dusk falls."

"We don't have much time then."

"Hurry, Andrew!" Fae called as Andrew dashed away.

...

Fae took another look at her reflection.

She dressed as a highwayman Instead of a hat, she wore a cloak.

A thief's mask was tied tightly around her face to hide her identity.

A corset clung to her torso and pants decorated with loosely tied bandannas suited her lower region quite nicely.

Knee-high boots completed her outfit. Fae admired herself.

Jasper, on the other hand, stared at her scandalous choice of garments.

"I hope you don't plan on prancing through town in that hideous costume," Jasper noted.

Prance? Fae wondered. She laughed as she realized that she would prance.

"It's for a party," she explained to her butler.

"Indeed."

After changing weapons and taking look at her new gauntlets, Fae was ready to meet Andrew at Reaver's mansion.

She was delighted when she noticed he was dressed as a mercenary.

Even his mussed hair was covered with a hat.

He wore fake facial hair, a blue button-up shirt and a leather jacket over it.

One of his sleeves was ripped off.

He wore jeans and black boots and fingerless gloves.

"Wow, Fae," he smiled his crooked smile, "you look sexy."

Page frowned, "you're not wearing the costume I picked out for you!"

(Page was wearing a brightly colored dress and insanely decorated mask. A powdered wig and hat covered her head. It took Fae a minute to get used to.)

"Yea," Ben grinned, "because it looks ridiculous. Really, Fae, you look great."

(Ben wore a matching costume...)

Fae smiled at them, mostly at Andrew, though.

"Let's crash this party," Fae said.

...


	6. Masquerade

...

The group split up in order to find Reaver.

Blade and Page explored one half of the mansion, while Forge and Ben investigated the other half of the mansion.

...

While wandering around their half of the mansion, Page asked Blade how she met Forge.

"He accompanied me to Dweller Camp, once," Blade answered while snooping through one of Reaver's drawers.

"Oh," Page said. She sounded disappointed. "Do you like him?"

Blade raised an eyebrow, "Yea, I guess."

"You guess?"

"I haven't thought about it."

"Oh."

Blade dumped out a trunk full of jewels.

"What are you doing?" Page wondered.

Blade shrugged, "Looting. Why?"

Page stared at her partner, "how can you say that so casually?"

"What else did you expect?"

Page watched her a little longer before finally shouting, "We don't have time for this! Let's go find Reaver!"

Page grabbed Blade's arm and dragged her to next room.

...

Ben and Forge explored their section of the mansion in silence. Occasionally, Ben would ask a question, in which Forge would mumble a reply, but they mostly kept quiet.

"Dare I ask, but how do you know Blade?" Ben wondered aloud.

"I helped her fight off a pack of wolves," Forge smiled as he remembered it.

"Really?" Ben stared at him.

"And then some."

"Impressive," Ben playfully punch Forge's arm.

Forge grinned in response.

"Is your name really 'Forge?'"

"Nope."

"Will you tell me your real name?"

"Nope."

"Does Blade know your real name?"

"Ask her."

Ben frowned. Besides the sound of drunken guests, the mansion was too quiet.

"So what's your relationship with Blade?" Ben wanted to know.

"We're buddies."

"Really?" Ben seemed relieved.

"How do you know Blade?" Forge changed the subject.

"Oh," Ben remembered the night Blade visited the Mourningwood Fort, "I taught her how use a mortar."

Forge smiled, "Sounds like something she'd enjoy. Blowing up hollow men."

Ben nodded, "She did."

"Are you two together?"

"No, we're not."

Forge let out a breath he had been keeping in.

Good, he thought, but continued exploring silently.

...

Somehow, both groups ended up in the same room.

Page met up with Ben, "Did you find him?"

"No," the captain replied.

Forge smiled at Blade while the other two members debated on where to go next.

"So, Ben's not bad," he whispered.

"He's great once you get to know him."

Forge nodded, "he told me you like mortars."

Blade laughed, "Yea."

She and Forge talked while Page and Ben argued.

This all happened under a pair of hungry eyes.

What the group didn't know was they had fallen right into Reaver's trap.

...

Forge was the first to notice the Wheel of Misfortune.

He elbowed Blade, who was standing next to him and watching Page and Ben bicker.

She turned to look at him, then followed his gaze to slightly above said Wheel.

Speak of the devil, she thought.

"How long have you been standing there?" Blade shouted at Reaver, who was watching them from a high platform.

He smiled down at her, "Long enough."

His voice caused the other teammates to take a look.

"I've been waiting for you."

"Waiting for us?" echoed Forge.

"You see, my party has been pretty dull. I've been expecting some poor souls to come and, well, entertain my guests."

"Us being the 'poor souls'..." Ben frowned.

"Do explain," said Page.

Reaver explained the object of his game: He would spin the Wheel, Page's team would proceed by fighting off any monster the Wheel landed on.

If Page's team was defeated, he won.

If Page's team defeated all of Reaver's monsters, they won.

"It's quite simple," Reaver finished, "Shall we begin?"

Blade raised her hand.

"Yes?"

"Why did you refer to us as 'Page's team?'"

"Because Page seems to be your leader," Reaver answered, wondering what kind of question Blade had just asked.

"Ben's a captain," stated Blade, "I'm higher than both of them. Why aren't I their leader?"

Forge agreed, "she makes a point."

Reaver stared at her, bewildered.

"Anyway," he said, after a minute and spun the Wheel.

...

Fighting creature after creature, Blade's group was getting impatient.

"Blade, you and Forge distract them while Page and myself come up behind him and..."

Blade interuptted him, "Ben, that's a terrible idea."

"Ah, come on!"

"We can't just allow Reaver to keep toying with us," Forge shook his head.

Page looked at Blade, "what should we do?"

"Get this over with, I suppose."

"You mean, continue being his pawns for this sick game?" Forge and Ben exchanged looks.

"Sparrow would..."

"No, she wouldn't," Ben said, "your mother would fight for her freedom."

"Which is exactly what I'm doing."

The rest of the group watched Blade with silence.

"We might as well face the next challenge. Reaver will get angry if we don't."

"Let him wait," Forge surprised the other members of his party by saying this, "Blade, he has you under his influence. I want to know why."

Blade was hit with a flashback: when she was upset with Forge for hitting on a village girl.

She ran into him, and stormed off without an explanation.

Forge chased after her, gasped her arm tightly, and forced her to tell him why she was upset.

He was holding her in a similar position right now. Blade turned her head away, refusing to talk.

"Fae," Forge gave her a warning before tightening his grip.

"Andrew," Blade used a said tone with him.

Page and Ben watched with shock.

It wasn't long before Forge gave up and let go of Blade's arm.

Blade breathed in as she felt the circulation return slowly.

She led the group to the room containing the Wheel of Misfortune where Reaver and his guests were waiting.

...

No one suspected the guests to transform into balverines and attack Blade's party.

The team watched in terror while Reaver watched with pleasure.

Blade drew her sword and stabbed the nearest monster.

The creature let out a yelp and collapsed.

Just then, Blade was surrounded. Forge tackled one, sending them both tumbling and fighting.

Blade attacked another.

Ben had three on him and Page was taking her time with one.

Forge wiped some blood of off his hands before lunging at a balverine behind him.

Reaver clapped, feeling extreme joy, "Wasn't that fun, hm?"

"That was not fun, Reaver," Page snapped, "That was anything but fun."

Ben disagreed, "I enjoyed myself. Best party I've ever crashed."

Blade laughed. Forge couldn't help but grin.

"Are you serious?" Page stared at her team.

Blade shrugged, "That was a blast."

Forge nodded.

Their reactions made Reaver laugh out of surprise.

"He used us!" Page shouted, "And you don't mind?!"

"It was sick," Forge said, "in an entertaining sort of way."

...

The team escaped Reaver's manor with their lives.

...


	7. Aurora

...

Fae, Ben, Walter, and Andrew boarded a ship destined to take them to a land called Aurora.

Escaping the harbor, Walter dared to ask Ben, Fae, and Andrew how they commandeered their ship.

"Magic," said Fae.

"Persuasion," said Ben.

"Force," said Andrew.

"It was a combination of all three," Ben explained, "We forced them to hand over a ship, while Fae used magic and persuaded Logan's guards to lend us one."

Walter laughed, "It sounds like you."

...

Andrew was good at steering the vessel, while Ben and Fae were good fighters in case pirates decided to raid them. Walter, however, was good at nothing and had no purpose traveling with the group.

"I'm good at ingratiating," Walter would tell them. Which was another way of saying 'Walter's a useless bum', Fae thought grimly.

They arrived in Aurora, either way.

...

The group arrived in Aurora on separate shores. Fae, Andrew and Walter remained together, but they were missing Ben.

While exploring the area, the group found a dark cave along the shore.

Fae had a feeling to avoid the cave. Walter ran on ahead, ignoring her cries of disapproval.

"Come on, Fae," Andrew said, "We can't let the geezer get hurt."

They followed Walter, uneasily.

Walter lit a torch and led them through the cave.

Soon, he realized that listening to Fae's gut would have been the wiser choice.

...

The group met a strange, fear-eating creature, soon after they entered the cave.

This creature, who terrified Walter and Andrew, seemed to enjoy watching the two cower before him.

The creature wanted to see how long Fae could keep her composure before she, too, broke. Fae seemed unmoved through all of the creature's trials.

During one, the creature stood uncomfortably close to Fae, his fingers almost stroking Fae's neck.

Because her comrades were afraid, she didn't expect them to stand up for her.

The girl acted as though this creature were like any other.

She dared him to touch her.

"Are you aware of what I can do standing so close to you?" the creature hissed.

"Are you aware of what I can do to YOU?" Fae sneered.

The creature seemed confused. No one had threatened it before.

Fae stayed indifferent and cold.

"Let us pass," Fae touched her sword.

"I'm not afraid of man-made weapons," the creature stated.

"You will be when I'm done with you."

The creature gulped. Fae grinned.

They passed without any further disturbances.

That is until they reached the end of the cave.

...

The creature kidnapped Walter.

Fae and Andrew had to fight in order to get him back.

The creature blinded Walter, however.

When they escaped the cave, Walter gave up.

Neither Fae or Andrew was strong enough to carry him to civilization.

They promised to get help.

While crossing the desert, Fae blacked out.

The heat was too much for her.

"Fae, wake up!" Andrew shouted at her.

Fae didn't respond.

Andrew desperately scanned the horizon to see how far civilization was.

He knew he couldn't wait for someone to rescue them; Walter might not make it.

So Andrew did what he imagined Fae would do: he carried her to the nearest settlement.

The moment he arrived, Ben flocked him.

"Andrew! Is she okay?"

Andrew answered that Fae was fine, she just needed some rest.

He told Ben that Walter was hurt and approximated the distance from the city to where Walter had collapsed.

An exotic woman took Fae from Andrew and set her on a hospital bed.

Andrew smiled at the sight of Fae sleeping peacefully before he passed out from exhaustion and the heat.

...

Andrew awoke to Fae staring into his face with concern.

"He's waking up!" she shouted over her shoulder to someone, then averted her attention to him, "Hey." She tried to smile.

"Hey," Andrew smiled back at her.

"I heard what you did. Ben told me. Andrew, that was pretty heroic."

He shook his head, "You would do the same thing."

"That's what makes it heroic."

He laughed, "Wait," he stared at Fae, his face etched with worry, "did they find..."

"...Walter? Yes, he's going to be alright."

Andrew looked relieved.

"I'm happy to see you," he whispered, admiring Fae's emerald green eyes that shone down on him.

"Aw," Fae smiled, "I'm happy to see you, too."

They studied each other for a little longer before Fae broke into short chit-chats.

Andrew closed his eyes.

All he could think about was Fae's green eyes and her auburn hair.

...

Gaining Aurora's trust was much easier than Fae had predicted.

...


	8. The Unicorn Painting

...

After promising to protect them from the dreaded creature Fae's party encountered in the dark, called the Crawler, Fae, Ben, Andrew, and blind Walter headed back to the main land.

...

While passing through Bowerstone Industrial one day, Fae was courted by Reaver.

If Andrew hadn't walked by the exact moment that he did, Fae didn't want to think of what Reaver would have done to her.

Reaver was whispering something in Fae's ear and Fae froze.

(Reaver caught her by surprise.)

Ignoring, Fae's resistance, Reaver squeezed her inappropriately.

Just when Fae was about to murder Reaver, someone tapped him on the shoulder.

"Excuse me," came Andrew's voice.

Reaver turned to see who had spoken to him, when Andrew punched him square in the face.

Reaver stared at him, bewildered.

"Don't touch Fae," said Andrew.

He and Fae escaped to Bowerstone Old Quarter.

Fae followed Andrew under a bridge, where they stopped to catch their breath.

"Andrew," Fae frowned, "I am a big girl and can handle my battles, especially battles with Reaver."

"Oh, yea," Andrew grinned at Fae, "you had it under control," he said, sarcastically.

Fae couldn't help but smile at him.

She reached forward to hug him.

Andrew, who was stiff and stunned at first, hugged her back.

She let go of him and pressed herself against the bricks of the bridge.

"I want to try something," he said and leaned in close to her.

Fae peered at Andrew, who tilted his head slightly.

Before she knew it, he closed the gap between their lips.

Andrew's kissing you! Fae's head spun, Do something!

With that, she kissed him back.

...

In Millfields, Andrew and Fae stood in front of Reaver's mansion.

"What are we doing here?" Andrew wanted to know. He raised an eyebrow at Fae.

"I left something during the party."

"Fae, that was weeks ago."

"Yea, I just remembered."

"Let's go get it then."

Andrew began walking toward the manor.

"Wait!" Fae called after him, "I'll get it. You can stay and...keep watch."

"Keep watch?"

Fae had already charged into the manor.

Seconds later she came out with a painting tucked under her arm.

"What's that?"

"Sh!" Fae pressed her finger to her lips, "We gotta get out of here before..."

Too late. Reaver had already caught them.

"Where are you going?" he demanded, "Is that...?"

"Run!" screamed Fae.

"Get back here!" Reaver chased after them.

"What did you do!?" shouted Andrew.

Fae threw the painting to him.

It depicted Reaver and a unicorn.

"You're the worst kind of criminal!"

"Give that back!" Reaver was losing his breath.

"I think he's on to us!" Fae shouted.

"You think?"

Fae laughed.

They lost Reaver and headed to Mispeak Valley.

...

In Mispeak, Andrew and Fae were ambushed by mercenaries.

Fae firmly clung onto Reaver's painting and refused to let it go.

One mercenary yanked a fistful of her long, red hair.

Fae screamed in pain.

The mercenary smiled and yanked harder.

(Andrew didn't notice this at the moment. He was trying to fight off four other mercenaries.)

Fae took a deep breath as the mercenary wrapped his hand around more hair before he yanked again.

She groaned.

Slowly, Fae drew her sword and sliced off a majority of her long hair off.

Feeling free, she turned and faced the mercenary.

He watched with shock and realized what had happened.

He retreated in a panic.

Andrew looked at her, then at the clumps of red hair on the ground and hugged her, feeling her distress.

"You look cute with short hair," he whispered to her forehead.

...

Fae discovered Reaver in an armory, testing out pistols.

She walked in and challenged him to a contest in order to see who was a better shot.

He faced some targets set up in the back of the shop and pulled the gun's trigger without steadying his hand.

The bullet hit the bulls-eye and Reaver smiled at Fae, "You're on."

Fae looked embarrassed as she suddenly realized that she was a terrible shot and that she had challenged Reaver-of all people!

She picked up a gun, aimed at the bulls-eye, and pulled the trigger.

The bullet missed the target.

Reaver laughed at her.

Fae felt humilated.

"What's my prize, Miss Fae? It better be worth it."

"Um..."

"You hadn't planned I would win, did you?"

Fae thought.

She didn't know what would intrigue Reaver.

"Could I have my painting back?"

"That's for ransom, so no."

"Ransom?"

"Yep."

"Maybe I could take you to my manor and show you my secret room?"

Fae let out a blood-curdling scream at the visual.

The shop keepers cringed and hid behind the counter.

Reaver flinched.

When she was finished, Reaver frowned, "I suppose that's a 'no,' then."

...


	9. Rebellion

...

Blade's troops marched through Bowerstone Old Quarter, weapons drawn.

Forge stood next to his leader, ready to shout orders.

Logan's guards charged at the rebel soldiers.

"Standby," Blade whispered to Forge, who shouted to the troops behind him.

"Ready..." she paused, before hollering a battle cry, "For Sparrow!" she screamed and began charging forward.

Her troops followed after her.

Blade clashed swords with one guard and Forge attacked another behind her.

He and Blade exchanged looks before someone yelled, "Fire in the hole!" and threw a grenade in their direction.

Forge lunged at Blade in order to shield her.

The covered themselves as best they could, waiting for the bomb to go off.

After a loud boom as a building crumbled beside them, Forge and Blade quickly stood up and dusted themselves off.

"Come on," Forge shouted and leaped onto one guard. Blade darted toward the castle.

She passed several guards, who rushed after her to stop her from getting any closer to her destination.

Forge followed, striking at the foes.

"Down with tyranny!" Blade shouted, while attacking some of Logan's guards, "Aristocracy! Autocracy! Monocracy! Other ocracy things!"

Forge laughed as he thrashed at one of the guards.

Blade reached the gates of the castle, and, finding that they were closed, she suddenly wished she had a mortar.

"Blast," she cursed, "how are we supposed to get around?"

"Maybe, with this?" Ben appeared and uncovered a hidden mortar.

"Ben, you're a genius!" Blade's face lit up.

"Aw, thanks," he smiled and tapped his cheek, as though asking for a kiss.

"No."

"But..."

"No."

Forge grinned, "Come on, let's light this thing up!"

Without much effort, Blade blew up the castle gates quite easily.

She, Ben, Forge, and their remaining troops raided the castle.

Walter, Page, Kalin and Sabine were somewhere in the mess, but Blade lost track of them.

She could only think of her brother.

...

Forge kicked open the door, sword in hand. Logan turned to see an army of renegades, his sister among them.

"Surrender!" Forge held his weapon to Logan's neck.

"No!" screamed Blade. She threw herself between Logan and the sword. "No," Blade began sobbing right there, "I can't watch him die. He's my brother."

Forge gaped at her.

He wasn't sure what to do.

He threw his sword down.

Logan comforted the weeping girl, "Oh, Blade."

She leaned against him.

Forge softly patted her back.

The troops seized Logan, of course.

They arrested him and kept him in prison until his trial.

Forge later asked Blade what had come over her.

She answered him that she grew up with Logan so he's important to her.

"I wouldn't be able to live with myself after something like that."

Fae was crowned ruler over Albion, naturally since her brother was overthrown.

Whether she would rebuild Albion or continue her brother's destruction was up to her.

...


	10. Sardines

...

Sitting on her throne, Fae looked miserably at the schedule her treasurer, Hobson, planned out for her.

Being the queen, Fae wondered if she could ask Walter to cover all this for her while she took a day to organize her battle plan for the Crawler's slaughter.

After studying her schedule a few more times, Fae sighed, crumbled the paper, and threw it to the ground.

Someone snickered in the doorway.

"Bored, your majesty?" Fae's faithful companion and romantic interest, Andrew, guessed as he leaned against the door frame.

Fae nodded.

"That's not good. Last time you were bored, you tricked me into stealing Reaver's unicorn painting."

"Ah," Fae grinned, "good times."

She began tugging at her bangs, which she did when she was deep in thought.

Andrew admired her for a moment.

"I have an idea," Fae said, finally.

"Oh no."

Fae flew out of the throne room and down a flight of stairs.

However, she tripped over the third step, lost her footing, and, instead of moving gracefully like a queen should, Fae tumbled to the first floor.

Reaver stepped into the castle just in time to laugh at the clumsy girl.

Andrew hurried after Fae to help her to her feet and dust her off.

"That was your big plan?" he asked.

"No, not really. Reaver! I need to see you in the throne room, pronto!"

Fae ran through the castle corridors, telling whoever she could find to meet her in the throne room.

After everyone gathered in the throne room, Fae explained why she called them together: she wanted them to play a game with her.

"Sardines," she grinned.

Andrew rolled his eyes.

He taught her how to play while they were in Aurora, waiting for Walter to heal from his encounter with the Crawler.

During the game, he, Fae, and Ben Finn ran around the city, hiding in random homes and temples.

Seeing as Fae's intentions were meaningless, most of the crowd left, uninterested.

A few maids, a guard, Reaver, and Andrew stayed.

Fae explained to the remaining group how to play the game before demanding to hide first.

She skipped delightfully out of the room, while the rest of the group began counting to thirty.

Andrew bolted out off the room as soon as they finished counting.

He didn't trust Reaver alone with Fae.

If anyone was going to find her first, it was going to Andrew.

...

He flung open the nearest closet door and tiptoed inside it.

Fae, who had been hiding there, grinned at him.

Seconds later, freckled Ben peeked inside.

Fae waved at him.

"What are you two doing in here?"

"Playing Sardines," Andrew answered.

"Join us," Fae beckoned.

Ben stepped inside the closet, slowly closing the door behind him.

"How are we supposed to fit everyone in here?" Andrew wondered.

"Exactly," Fae winked at the slightly amused man.

The door opened again a few minutes later, and two maids quietly walked inside.

Then the guard found them, huddled in the small closet.

The group giggled and waited for Reaver.

Reaver frowned when he realized he was the last to find Fae.

He gave Andrew a glare when he saw the blacksmith's smug face.

...

"Andrew found me first," Fae told the group as they walked back to the throne room, "so he gets to hide next."

The group counted again, while Andrew picked his hiding place.

This time, Reaver discovered him first under Fae's bed.

"Found you," Reaver whispered.

Andrew rolled his eyes.

For a while, the two watched each other.

The maids found them next.

They giggled stupidly when they saw Reaver.

Ben followed them.

Then Fae located them, last.

"The guard gave up," she pouted.

"It's Reaver's turn to hide," Andrew stated, throwing his arm around Fae's shoulder, protectively.

He looked at Reaver while doing this.

Reaver grinned at him.

...

While Reaver was hiding, Fae spotted him first, standing behind a lamp.

Finally, he thought as the edges of his lips curled into a hungry smile, some alone time with Fae.

Fae didn't notice the look on his face until he scooted close to her.

Silently, she prayed someone would find them before Reaver did anything else to her.

"So," Reaver's arm slithered around her waist.

"Don't touch me," Fae said.

"Or what?" Reaver asked, smiling flirtatiously.

Fae kneed him in a rather unpleasant area.

Reaver doubled over in pain.

Andrew and Ben walked in on them.

"Good job, Fae!" Andrew congratulated her.

Andrew smiled at the sight of Reaver in pain.

...


	11. BountyHunting

...

In order to save Albion from the Crawler's wrath, Fae needed to keep some money in the treasury.

Her first plan was to sell everything she owned (besides the castle) to gain some.

Her second plan was to buy one house from each town in Albion and rent it out.

She did this with the money she gained from selling things.

Seeing as this wasn't enough, Fae finally decided to get a job.

She found the perfect one: bounty hunting.

Getting paid to do the one thing she loves most.

While working, Fae met someone.

She was exterminating hollow men in Mourningwood.

While she was taking care of one, another striked her from behind.

Fae fell, unconscious.

Before she blacked out, though, she heard a gunshot and saw someone kneeling beside her.

When she woke up, this stranger was setting up a fire.

She sat up quickly, completely aware of the man.

"Wait, no!" the man shouted, trying to stop her from sitting up.

She looked at him, confused.

Just then, she felt a pain surge through her forehead.

She groaned and lied down, letting it overcome her.

For a minute or two, there was silence between them.

The man poked at the fire.

Fae turned on her side to face him.

"Who are you?" Fae asked.

"Allow me to introduce myself," the man stood up.

His grin was so wide, that to be in his presence without grinning would be impossible.

He bowed, respectfully, "I'm Ethan. I was called in to hinder a hollow men raid in Mourningwood. If I had known the queen would be joining me," Ethan winked at Fae, "I may have changed into some clean trousers."

Ethan was covered, from head to toe, in dry blood.

Fae noticed this.

"I work with eliminating monsters a lot," Ethan explained to her, "I'm a bounty hunter, it's what I do."

Fae smiled.

Ethan was very outgoing and straightforward.

She liked him.

"You may be running into me often, then," Fae said to him, "I need to earn some money to save Albion."

"So, the rumors are true," Ethan looked at her, "there really is a creature in Aurora."

"For now," Fae told him about the Crawler's slaughter coming to Bowerstone.

"I want some of that action!" Ethan grinned.

"Well, I'm gonna need a couple of fearless soldiers. I mean, if you want to help me..."

"Count me in."

...

Ethan and Fae shared their profit from the hollow men job.

Ethan tried to argue that Fae was saving up for a good cause whereas he would spend it on meaningless rubbish.

"For your honesty then," Fae smiled and insisted that he took half.

Ethan didn't debate any further.

He gratefully shared the bounty.

"Fae?" someone called behind her.

Fae turned around.

Ethan's eyes grew wide with surprise.

Said someone scooped Fae up in their arms.

Realizing it was Andrew, Fae began to squeal and giggle.

Andrew laughed and spun her around.

"Who are you?" Ethan's voice interrupted them.

Andrew set Fae down so she could introduce them.

There was a tense stare for a while.

Something was wrong, but Fae couldn't put her finger on what it was.

Instead, she pretended not to notice the intensity.

Grabbing his hand, Fae dragged Andrew toward the castle to finish her daily agenda.

...

While they were exploring Brightwall's Reliquary for things to sell, Andrew asked Fae how she felt towards this "Ethan" character.

"He's a charmer, I'll give him that," Fae said as she shuffled through bookshelves.

"I can tell he has an unpleasant ego," Andrew frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"He's full of himself."

"Yea, kinda."

"Do you like him?"

"Andrew, I hardly even know him."

"Oh," Andrew had a feeling Fae was keeping something from him.

He sighed and kept quiet.

Next time he met this "Ethan," Andrew would confront him.

...


	12. The Locksmith

...

Late at night, Fae woke up to the sound of footsteps in the castle lobby.

Fae was used to the guards' heavy footfalls and the servants' shuffling.

She was not used to the sound of these footfalls.

She swung her legs over the side of her bed to investigate.

Fae, armed with a candle, slowly walked down the castle's grand staircase to see who had broken in.

She caught the criminal.

"Quick," she said, fiercely, "who are you and how'd you get in here?!"

The man looked at her, puzzled.

"I'm the locksmith," he answered, "and...well, I'm the locksmith."

Fae laughed with relief.

"In that case," she blushed, "follow me."

Fae lead the man to a room surrounded by doors that had been locked.

She set down her candle, jiggled one of the doorknobs, then, in frustration, kicking the door down.

The locksmith watched her in shock.

Fae peeked into the room.

To her dismay, it was empty.

"That puts a damper in things," she thought aloud.

...

Reaver visited her the next day.

She bumped into him, while running through the corridors.

Realizing it was Reaver, Fae pointed to the castle's front entrance.

"Leave," she demanded.

Reaver laughed, "did you seriously think you could get rid of me that easily?"

"Yes, now do as I ask."

"What are you going to do if I don't?"

"Andrew!" Fae called.

"Go ahead, call your little boyfriend. See if I care."

"Andrew, Reaver's violating me!" Fae shouted throughout the castle.

"What!?" Reaver looked at the girl in shock. He thought, if only.

Andrew was beside Fae in minutes.

"Wanna play dirty, do you?" his hand formed into a fist.

"Reaver, you may want to go," Fae said, shooing him away.

Reaver stared at her, "You little liar!"

"Whoop-dee-do. Leave."

Andrew was about to box Reaver's face in, when Ethan walked in.

He stared at the odd group before shrugging,"I'm not even gonna ask," and walked away.

...

After getting rid of Reaver, Andrew found Ethan again.

Fae had to settle a dispute between two citizens, so she was busy and unaware of Andrew's intentions.

She would kill me if she knew, Andrew shivered as he recognized the truth in this.

Still, Andrew had to put a stop to Ethan before it's too late.

Andrew walked over to Ethan, cautiously.

"Hey," he said quietly.

There was an uncomfortable pause before Ethan glared at him and asked, "What?"

Andrew shrugged off the bountyhunter's rude answer.

"Do me a favor and stay away from my girlfriend."

Ethan looked confused.

"Girlfriend?" he echoed.

"Yea, Fae's mine, so don't get any ideas."

"I can tell you don't like me."

"I can tell you're a tease. You won't get to Fae. She doesn't fall for that."

"How do you know?"

"Reaver's been coming onto her for months. Trust me, it won't work."

"She hasn't seen what I can do."

"Ethan..."

"Listen, Andrew, by the end of this year, Fae will leave you. Relationships don't last long."

Maybe not yours, Andrew glared at Ethan, but Fae loves me.

Andrew hesitated on that last thought: Doesn't she?

Without another word, Ethan left.

Andrew tried to think of someway to get Fae away from Ethan.

What was it about her that turned so many guys on?

...

Fae set aside some funds to reconstruct the bridge to the Gypsy Camp.

The old camp was important to her because her mother, Sparrow lived there before living in the Bowerstone (FairFax) Castle.

For senimental reasons, Fae wanted to explore the area after the bridge was rebuilt.

Breathing deeply, Fae hesitated before slowly crossing the bridge.

She took half a step when someone grabbed her by the hand and pulled her away.

"Don't," they warned.

Fae didn't turn to look at them. The voice surprised her.

She could've sworn it was...Reaver?

Out of curiosity, Fae turned to face him.

Reaver stared into Fae's green eyes, pleadingly.

"I promise, I will do anything for you as long as you don't cross this bridge."

Fae jerked her hand away from him.

She turned quickly and began walking toward the camp.

"No! Fae, don't!"

Too late.

Fae headed for the note posted in front of her.

"Please, don't read that note!" Reaver continued to beg.

Fae didn't listen to him.

The note read:

This is the Old Gypsy Camp. It is currently owned by Reaver. In Memory of Sparrow-Hero and Lover.

It was signed by Reaver at the very bottom.

Fae looked at Reaver in astonishment.

Hero and Lover?

"I told you..." Reaver shrugged.

Lover? Fae studied him for a moment, trying to make sense of that last part of the note.

"You loved her?" she finally managed to gasp.

"Yes. But by the time I came back from Aurora, it was too late. She was already dead."

"Why are you so keen on wooing me then?"

"If I can't have Sparrow, I'll settle for her daughter."

"That's sick, Reaver."

Reaver laughed, "well, now you know my secret."

...


	13. Ethan

Fae took a bounty hunting task.

She had to exterminate balverines in Silverpines.

No problem, she thought, this'll be a piece of cake.

She noticed that all the creatures were dead when she entered the settlement.

In the corner of her eye, someone stepped out of a shadow of trees.

Ethan blew some smoke off his gun.

He grinned at Fae.

"Late as always."

"Not last time," Fae argued.

"I remember, I had to save your bum."

Fae rolled her eyes which just made Ethan snicker.

"Fae," Ethan smiled at her, "would you like to spend an evening with me?"

Fae stared at the blood-stained man.

"Are you asking me out?"

"Kind of."

Fae turned almost as red as her hair.

"Uh," she looked at her feet, "yeah, I guess I would."

"Great!" Ethan's grin grew wider, "meet me at the pub in Brightwall."

Ethan darted away before Fae could ask another question.

...

Fae reached the village as twilight fell.

She had her hair pinned up and wore a lavender dress.

Heads turned as she walked inside the pub.

Ethan let out a low whistle.

"Fae, you look like a pansy."

Fae frowned at him.

"A pretty pansy?" Ethan shrugged trying to mend his insult.

"Thanks a lot, Ethan."

"That's what you were aiming for, right?"

"No, it wasn't actually."

There was an awkward silence before Ethan took Fae by the arm and dragged her toward an empty table.

As they sat down, a waitress handed each of them a menu.

To Fae's dismay, the pub only served alcoholic beverages.

"Do you want to go somewhere that has food?" Fae whispered to Ethan.

"Aw, come on, Fae." Ethan gave her a pleading look, "we just got here."

"I'm hungry, Ethan," Fae lied.

"Give this place a chance."

Seeing that she was being ignored, Fae stood up.

Ethan watched her with surprise.

"What are you doing?"

"Finding somewhere else that serves dinner specials."

"Fae, don't leave."

Ethan grabbed Fae's hand quickly.

Fae escaped his grip.

"Come on, live a little."

"You obviously don't know who you're talking to, Ethan."

Ethan stared at Fae.

After a moment, Fae turned toward the door.

"Goodbye, Ethan," she called. "Maybe we can try dinner some other time."

Fae didn't speak to Ethan the next day.

Weeks passed and she refused to speak to him.

...

Despite Fae's efforts to save Albion, the Crawler invaded Bowerstone anyway and it was up to Ethan, Fae, Andrew, Ben Finn, Walter, and Logan to defeat him.

...


	14. Massacre

...

Ben Finn, Ethan, Andrew, Fae, Logan, Walter, and their troops wandered through Bowerstone, wincing around every corner.

The Crawler's invasion was much worse than anyone had imagined.

Death was everywhere and innocent villagers were being mercilessly tortured.

It made Fae's heart quicken.

Fae ran ahead of her team to scout the area.

The Crawler caught Fae, grasping her arm firmly enough so she couldn't escape him, but gently enough that it seemed more horrifying.

Fae turned her head.

Her heart either stopped or was beating so quickly that she couldn't make out the individual beats anymore.

The Crawler grinned, "Let's play a game. I've heard some children do it with crickets, but I think it's more fun with people," his long fingers dropped to grasp Fae's hand.

She struggled to escape from him, only to find herself stuck.

Fae whimpered as the Crawler continued, "shall we start with your thumbs?"

A gunshot sounded.

The Crawler disappeared.

Fae, free from her captor, leapt into her savior's arms.

Reaver, stunned at first, wrapped his arms around the frightened girl.

"Thank you," she whispered.

Reaver closed his eyes to savor the moment.

"Get your hands off my girlfriend," Andrew frowned at the scene.

Fae pulled away from Reaver, returning to Andrew, faithfully.

Andrew threw his arm around her shoulder, protectively.

The rest of her team caught up to the queen, Andrew, and Reaver.

...

Ethan bumped into the Crawler next.

He lifted his blood-covered sword to the creature.

Fae followed him.

The Crawler shivered at the sight of her.

Ethan grinned, "You're afraid of the queen! Admit it."

"My good sir," the Crawler grimaced, "who isn't?"

Fae laughed.

She couldn't possibly describe the delight she felt now that she knew she had an advantage.

...

Ben and Fae, were ensnared.

The Crawler studied Ben carefully.

"Fae?" Ben glanced at the girl.

"Give me a minute." Fae was contemplating her plan, "Ben, what do you think my mother would do in this situation?"

"Ah, your mother," the Crawler hissed, "I expect she always had sweet little things to say like, 'you're only a princess if you act like one,' and other such nonsense."

"You're not helping," Fae glared at him.

"My lady, you are the best I have ever fought with. And I have battled with many."

Fae cut the Crawler's cheekbone.

He stared at her with surprise.

Her attack was so quick that he didn't see it coming.

The Crawler disappeared.

He reappeared beside Andrew, who was standing on the other side of Bowerstone.

Andrew jumped when he noticed the Crawler next to him.

He closed his eyes, trying to calm down.

The Crawler grinned, "My, you startle easily."

Andrew looked at him.

"Don't touch me," he commanded.

Of course that gave the Crawler an idea.

"You mean like this..."

The Crawler reached toward Andrew.

"That does it," the blacksmith said, before the Crawler could get close enough.

He stabbed the creature through his...stomach?

The Crawler looked as Andrew forced his sword farther into the creature.

The Crawler managed to escape.

...

By the end of the fight, the Crawler possessed Walter.

In order to save him, Fae had to kill him.

She stabbed Walter through his belly, sobbing and apologizing all the while.

Walter coughed up blood.

Fae's team watched in horror.

Over Fae's shoulder stood the Crawler.

Fae forced her sword through Walter before pulling it out and attacking the fiend with it.

Walter lied on the ground, coughing and slowly dying.

A pool of blood formed around him.

...

After defeating the Crawler, Fae held a short funeral for Walter and the other citizens who had died.

Then, she wandered through the streets of Bowerstone.

Bodies and blood covered the streets.

Sadness was everywhere.

Fae finally reached the border of Bowerstone.

Standing there, waiting for her, was Andrew.

She leaned on his shoulder for a while, letting the sorrow take over her.

Andrew kissed her forehead.

"We'll get through this, Fae," Andrew assured her, "and you'll be known as a Hero like your mother."

Fae hiccupped, "you think so?"

"I know it."

Fae laid her head against Andrew's shoulder and took a deep breath.

"We should probably go back to the castle, Fae," Andrew whispered.

"Why?" Fae asked, "Albion can wait."

Andrew laughed.

...

Watching from behind a pile of debris, Ethan sighed.

He didn't want to admit it but Fae seemed really happy with Andrew.

Even Ethan wasn't so heartless that he'd take Fae from someone she loved.

_You better be good to her, _Ethan thought and shot Andrew a unseen death look, _or I'll hunt you down._

...


	15. Epilogue

{Epilogue}

...

Fae ruled Albion with the grace and mercy of her mother before her.

She was kind and patient, but was also known to be fierce.

She would listen to both sides of an argument and always picked the one she thought would be best for her people.

She kept all of her promises and kept in touch with Kalin, Page, Ben Finn, Logan, Sabine, and even Reaver.

When Albion faced hardships, Fae lead them out of darkness.

When the castle's funds depleted, Fae worked hard to restore them.

She was the queen Albion looked up to.

Ethan disappeared shortly after the Crawler's massacre.

No one knows what happened to him.

It's been said that he couldn't handle the thought of Blade with someone else and that killed him.

Maybe he left Albion to explore other areas of the world and find adventure and romance of his own.

No one is quite sure.

Well, Andrew stayed by Fae's side through it all.

Some say, he didn't have a choice and that Fae held him captive.

Others believe he didn't have anywhere to go.

But the truth is that Andrew couldn't imagine going back to a life without Fae.

She brightened his world.

Naturally, Albion needed a king.

There's nothing wrong with a queen ruling over a country, but Fae would need an heir.

She refused to have a child with a man who she wasn't married to and the only man who she loved enough to settle down with was, well, Andrew.

Andrew married Fae, not because he wanted to be king (in fact, he did not want such a heavy burden on his shoulders), but because he loved Fae so much that he would do anything for her, even if that meant running a country.

Fae and Andrew settled down and had seven kids: Ophelia, Jacqueline, Serena, Varania, Dante, Raphael, and Fenris.

Their children grew up learning how to defend themselves and their country, and learned how to rule a nation.

Every night, before she tucked her children into bed, the queen told them the stories of Blade and Forge.

Ophelia and Varania liked how the princess saves herself and how she's independent.

Jacqueline and Serena liked the romance.

Dante, Jonathan, Raphael, and Fenris enjoyed the action.

Little did the kids know, the stories Fae told them were her legacy.

As for Queen Blade, her name still lives on.

She and Forge lived happily ever after.

...

The End


End file.
